理睬

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Character Breakdown

Usage and Nuance

The verb 理睬 (lǐcǎi) means "to pay attention to" or "to heed," but it is most commonly used in negative forms such as 理睬, meaning "to ignore" or "to disregard." When someone says 理睬, they imply a deliberate choice to not respond or acknowledge someone or something.

Common Collocations

  • 理睬 (bù lǐcǎi): to ignore deliberately, often used to express refusal to respond.
  • 理睬别人 (lǐcǎi biérén): to pay attention to others, though less common in positive form.

Register and Tone

理睬 is somewhat formal and often appears in written or formal spoken Chinese. It carries a slightly stronger tone than simply ignoring someone; it suggests conscious disregard.

Common Confusion

Do not confuse 理睬 with 理解 (lǐjiě, "to understand") or 理由 (lǐyóu, "reason"). 理睬 focuses on attention and response, not comprehension or reasoning.

Summary

Use 理睬 mainly in contexts where you want to express whether someone pays attention or deliberately ignores another person or thing. The negative form 理睬 is especially common in everyday speech and writing to indicate ignoring someone intentionally.

Example Sentences

He completely ignores others' criticisms.

She deliberately ignores me, maybe because she is angry.

At the meeting, he did not pay attention to those irrelevant opinions.